


The World as It Will Be

by roseclaw



Category: High School Musical
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-27
Updated: 2010-07-27
Packaged: 2017-10-10 20:14:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/103825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseclaw/pseuds/roseclaw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><strong>PLEASE READ THE WARNINGS!!!!</strong>  This fic may have triggery pregnancy things! Please be advised! Gabriella is in her sophomore year of college. That means more stress than she's ever experienced before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The World as It Will Be

**Author's Note:**

> **PLEASE READ THE WARNINGS!!!!** This is for my [stranded/survival scenario](http://autonomyanatomy.livejournal.com/26806.html) for [](http://community.livejournal.com/hc_bingo/profile)[**hc_bingo**](http://community.livejournal.com/hc_bingo/), and it deals with being emotionally stranded. A big thank you to [](http://magickalmolly.livejournal.com/profile)[**magickalmolly**](http://magickalmolly.livejournal.com/) and [](http://saekokato.livejournal.com/profile)[**saekokato**](http://saekokato.livejournal.com/) for their help. Title from an Isaac Asimov quote.

  
  
  
  
  


**Entry tags:**

| 

  
[character study](http://autonomyanatomy.livejournal.com/tag/character%20study), [fic](http://autonomyanatomy.livejournal.com/tag/fic), [gabriella's giggles](http://autonomyanatomy.livejournal.com/tag/gabriella%27s%20giggles), [gen](http://autonomyanatomy.livejournal.com/tag/gen), [h/c bingo](http://autonomyanatomy.livejournal.com/tag/h/c%20bingo), [het](http://autonomyanatomy.livejournal.com/tag/het), [hsm](http://autonomyanatomy.livejournal.com/tag/hsm), [rating: pg-13](http://autonomyanatomy.livejournal.com/tag/rating:%20pg-13), [taylor kicks ass](http://autonomyanatomy.livejournal.com/tag/taylor%20kicks%20ass)  
  
  
---|---  
  
**Fandom:** High School Musical  
**Pairing:** gen with background Troy/Gabriella  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Word Count:** 2,579 words  
**Spoilers:** n/a  
**Warnings:** Gabriella discovers she's pregnant while in her sophomore year of college. She decides to abort.  
**Author's Note:** **PLEASE READ THE WARNINGS!!!!** This is for my [stranded/survival scenario](http://autonomyanatomy.livejournal.com/26806.html) for [](http://community.livejournal.com/hc_bingo/profile)[**hc_bingo**](http://community.livejournal.com/hc_bingo/), and it deals with being emotionally stranded. A big thank you to [](http://magickalmolly.livejournal.com/profile)[**magickalmolly**](http://magickalmolly.livejournal.com/) and [](http://saekokato.livejournal.com/profile)[**saekokato**](http://saekokato.livejournal.com/) for their help. Title from an Isaac Asimov quote.  
**Disclaimer:** Everyone here belongs to Ortega and Disney.  
**Summary:** **PLEASE READ THE WARNINGS!!!!** Gabriella is in her sophomore year of college. That means more stress than she's ever experienced before.

  
The World as It Will Be

There was a stomach bug circulating campus, so when Gabriella woke up only to feel her stomach twist with sequential heaving into the toilet, she warned her roommate that the entire room should be Lysoled. Gabriella emailed her professors and crawled back into bed. No one was going to accuse her of being irresponsible.

She slept the rest of the day.

The next day she woke with only a few residual effects of the bug: just a wave of nausea. She had no problem overcoming the tail end of the bug. She made up the work she had missed the day before and found herself exhausted by the end of the day. Midterms were coming up, and she was working herself too hard. Plus, she had recently had that 24 hour stomach bug. She was entitled to an early night. If she didn't, the stress would drive her to insanity. She had seen it happen to a friend last year when they had been freshmen.

Gabriella had also had a false period a week before from all the stress. Just a bit of spotting, nothing major enough to blindside her.

She was going to relax this coming weekend if it killed her.

Except her fatigue didn't dissipate after her weekend of doing nothing.

Then she thought that maybe it was because she wasn't exercising as much as she should. And that rigorous exercise left her exhausted, too, and it made her lower back hurt.

And then she missed her period. She lost it. It had completely gone by two weeks ago, and Gabriella freaked out. Missed periods weren't caused by stress. At least in Gabriella's case, and at the very least then it was a day or two late.

In Gabriella's mind, there was only one reason for a missed period, and she didn't even want to think of the word. It was a word that would destroy the future she had planned. It would cause worry and anger across the board. Gabriella would never be able to make it into the law program.

Gabriella had seen what had happened to girls in high school. Gabriella had lived in several different cities and suburbs. The results were all the same. Most didn't finish high school, and a few of them now collected welfare. None of them, to Gabriella's knowledge, had gone to college. Their lives became centered around their kids, and that was it.

_   
**HSM: The World as It Will Be**   
_

**:: :: ::**

  
Gabriella went to a Rite Aid on the opposite side of town so she wouldn't run into anyone from campus. She bought two pregnancy test kits and a Milky Way. She didn't make eye contact with the cashier. He looked familiar. She paid cash.

She saved the candy bar for after she took the test. She would need it then no matter what the results of the test were. The two kits were to make sure that none of them gave her a false result. They were two different brands.

She used the bathroom in a Burger King to conduct the test. It wasn't the best location, but she didn't want to do it in the dorms. The girls would ask questions, and no one would stop until they figured out that she was the one who did the test. Then there would be probing questions that Gabriella didn't want to answer.

Despite its seediness, the Burger King bathroom was the lesser of two evils.

The first test told her she was pregnant.

Gabriella clamped down her panic. She and Troy had always been safe. They used condoms and spermicide. Every single time.

She took a deep breathe and tried the other test, which told her the exact same thing.

Gabriella sobbed in the stall for twenty minutes.

**:: :: ::**

  
Gabriella spent the next few days not talking to anyone. She refused to answer her phone for anyone. She wasn't sure she could have a conversation with anyone without bursting into tears. She went to classes, but she kept to herself. She couldn't afford to miss classes.

She did insurmountable research on the internet, but never when her roommate was in the room. Gabriella couldn't handle anyone else knowing. Not yet.

She couldn't tell Troy. He'd play the victim, and that was _not_ what Gabriella needed. He'd also want her to go through with it. She didn't want to tell her friends at school. She wasn't sure how they would react, and Gabriella only needed logic, because she couldn't provide it herself. But she knew that she would receive only emotion, either positive or negative. Besides, most of her friends from last year had transferred out or were taking a year abroad, so she really had to start making friends all over again. It didn't come difficult to her, but she wasn't going to confide in any of them so soon.

She wasn't ever going to tell her roommate, who was from central Texas. No matter what Gabriella decided to do, her roommate would never approve. She believed that only married people should have children – or sex. She also believed that if there was conception, that child should be brought into the world.

Gabriella hadn't even begun to think of her options.

Gabriella had options. She hadn't thought about it before. In her defense, she had been in a state of mild panic.

She took a deep, calming breath and conducted a sun salutation like Ryan had shown her years ago.

She still felt that she should tell Troy. He played as much of a part in this as she did, but the rest of it would be all Gabriella. She would love for this moment to come ten years down the line. But not now.

No, this wasn't Troy's decision. This was all Gabriella's.

However, this was too big for Gabriella. She needed to talk to someone. She couldn't turn to a friend. They couldn't know. Somehow it would end up at Gabriella's mother, and she didn't want her mother to know.

Maybe she should talk to the school psychologist, but the school psychologist didn't _know_ Gabriella.

**:: :: ::**

  
Gabriella was always tired and the morning sickness was unbearable, especially when coupled with rigorous academic work. She felt bloated and worn out. The stress of midterms did not help matters. She felt sorry for herself.

Then Taylor sent Gabriella an email asking how she was doing, that midterms were terrible this year. It was just simple, small talk.

Gabriella called Taylor immediately.

"Hey!" Taylor said when she picked up. "I wasn't expecting you to respond so quickly."

"I need human interaction," Gabriella explained as lightly as she could. "I've been spending too much time with my textbooks."

"I know the feeling," Taylor said. "Midterms are trying to crush my soul."

Gabriella giggled. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed Taylor's wryness.

"So what's going on with you?" Taylor asked.

Gabriella couldn't help it, she choked out a sob and couldn't stop.

"Gabriella?" Taylor asked. Gabriella couldn't answer. "Honey? What's wrong?"

Gabriella cried until she couldn't anymore. Taylor periodically said, "It's going to be okay, let it out."

When Gabriella finally stopped, Taylor asked softly, "Do you feel better now?"

"No," Gabriella said miserably, thickly.

Taylor waited patiently for Gabriella to say something.

"I haven't talked to Troy in two weeks," Gabriella said. She still sounded wrecked.

"Is that why you're miserable?" Taylor asked. She didn't sound too sure.

"No, no," Gabriella said. "I've been avoiding him."

"Are you attempting to break up with him?" Taylor asked. Gabriella could hear Taylor's uncertainty.

The thought hadn't even occurred to Gabriella. She loved Troy, she really did, but he was half the reason she was in the mess she was.

"I don't think so," Gabriella mumbled.

"But you're not sure?" Taylor asked.

"I – " Gabriella couldn't finish her sentence. She wasn't sure how. But Taylor had extended her hand into Gabriella's self-imposed bubble. Taylor, who knew many of Gabriella's closely guarded secrets. Taylor, who always provided logic when Gabriella needed it most.

"Oh, Taylor." Gabriella had thought she was out of tears, but apparently she had been wrong. She decided to spit it out, to say the words aloud, and it would somehow make her situation real and concrete. "I'm pregnant."

Taylor was silent as Gabriella's tears flowed.

"Okay," Taylor said. Gabriella was relieved that Taylor hadn't said 'congratulations' – Gabriella would have completely broken. "Have you made a decision?"

"No," Gabriella said. "I haven't even thought about all my – my options yet."

"Would you like to do that now?" Taylor asked. Of course Taylor would help. Gabriella should have called her earlier. "We could talk about your options; you can then think about them and come to a conclusion."

"Yes," Gabriella breathed out. It would be like ripping off a Band-Aid instead of pulling it off slowly.

"Okay," Taylor said. "We have option number one: giving birth and keeping the child."

"Oh, God," Gabriella said. There was a child growing inside her. She hadn't thought of it in those terms before, even though logically, she knew it was the case. She had been thinking in terms of being pregnant as a state of being not as a – a child being brought into the world.

"That's just one option," Taylor explained. Taylor knew how hard Gabriella had worked to be accepted to Stanford. Taylor also knew that Gabriella was going to apply to the Stanford law program.

"Okay," Gabriella said shakily.

"Option number two," Taylor said, "is giving birth and putting the child up for adoption."

Gabriella didn't think she liked the idea of some pair of strangers raising her child as if it was their own.

But Gabriella didn't have a child yet, she reasoned. It was currently a mass of cells that would eventually develop into a child.

Logic. She needed to look at the entire situation logically. Taylor definitely helped with that.

"Option number three," Taylor said, "is abortion."

Gabriella sucked in a breath. She knew that option was coming. She didn't know if she could kill a living thing, especially a human.

"Those are your three options," Taylor explained. "Let's start with option one, shall we?" She sounded more like she was prepared to give a lecture to the class than discuss the option, but Gabriella was possibly being unfair to Taylor, who was willing to help and keeping any comments she might have about Gabriella's situation to herself.

"Okay," Gabriella said in a small voice.

"Parenting," Taylor said. "Within the next nine months will you be able to care for a child? I mean this emotionally and fiscally. You don't need to answer, just think about it," she added. "I'm assuming you'd want Troy in the picture, too. Would he be supportive? Would your mother be supportive? I know that a few girls from high school would be living in near-poverty conditions if their families hadn't been supportive."

Gabriella was afraid that Taylor would mention something like that. Gabriella wanted to live her life first, before she brought another life into the world. But she didn't have that luxury now. She needed to make fast decisions.

"A child is for the next two decades and possibly longer," Taylor said. "Your mother still supports you financially, and my parents support me. Twenty years is a long time. You need to be mentally ready for that, too."

"I know," Gabriella whispered.

"And another question to consider for any option you choose: how do you feel about other women our age who have unplanned pregnancies?" Taylor asked.

"I – " Gabriella wasn't sure how she felt. A month ago, she thought it was a waste of potential on the parent's part. Maybe that was still how she felt.

"With both option one and two, you need to consider the fact that you're going to have a child inside you for nine months," Taylor said. "You might decide to put your child up for adoption now, but then become attached and decide to raise your child. That's a big loss. Even women who decide to raise their child still suffer postpartum."

Gabriella nodded, even though she knew Taylor couldn't see her.

"If you do decide to put the child up for adoption, you wouldn't be the primary caregiver," Taylor said. "I've also heard that the adoption process is highly involved. You'd need support to make it through both the pregnancy and then the adoption process. Can you handle pregnancy, adoption, and school?"

Gabriella sniffled, but she didn't respond. She didn't know.

"Abortion," Taylor said, "isn't as villainous as some people have made it to be. If you feel that you can't raise your child or put it up for adoption, it's the only option you're left with. It's been known to save lives. But you need to be mentally prepared for it as well. Especially if you need to walk through a Planned Parenthood door after walking past the protestors.

"None of these options should be taken lightly," Taylor said. "None of them. And it's _your_ decision, not anyone else's. It's your life that you'll be changing. Don't let _anyone_ push you to make a certain decision."

Gabriella made a small noise.

"No matter what you decide," Taylor added softly. "The results of that decision will stay with you for always."

Taylor knew a lot about the options she was presenting to Gabriella. Maybe there were some secrets about Taylor that Gabriella didn't know.

"Also," Taylor added quickly. "Is it important what other people think of you and your decision? I know in high school you didn't care about the status quo, but this is an entirely different level. We're not in high school any more, and this isn't the same thing as reaching across social boundaries.

"With the abortion option, no one would have to know," Taylor said. "Just you, me, and the doctor. You could then tell other people when you're ready. But with the other two options, people will notice whether you tell them or not."

"I – Thank you, Taylor," Gabriella said.

"You're welcome," Taylor said.

"I need to think," Gabriella said.

"Over Thanksgiving Break, I'll fly out to Palo Alto, and we'll take care of everything together." Gabriella hated that there was an entire country between her and her best friend. "You can change your mind at any time, Gabriella. This is _your_ decision."

"Thank you, Taylor," Gabriella breathed out in a sigh.

"Honey," Taylor said. "I'm a friend. This is what we do."

****

:: :: ::

  
Gabriella spent an entire month debating with herself. It turned out to be a full fledged war with herself. But she arrived at her decision. She wasn't ready to give up her life, as selfish as it sounded. She wasn't financially ready for a family. She wasn't mentally ready to be as responsible as parenthood demanded.

She couldn't deal with the idea of other people knowing that she was careless enough to have unprotected sex. She couldn't deal with the looks as she crossed the quad.

She couldn't give up a child if she had one.

She wasn't ready to tell Troy or her mother.

It left her with one option.

She called up Taylor to let her know.

**:: :: ::**

  
"Hey," Taylor said. As she stepped out of the arrival terminal at the San Francisco International Airport, she saw Gabriella. She hugged Gabriella tightly. "You ready?"

Gabriella smiled. It felt real. "Yes," she said resolutely. "Yes, I'm ready. Let's go."


End file.
